New Delhi, April 14 -- Although the RBI maintained the key repo rates, several banks, including HDFC Bank, increased their repo-linked home loan interest rates by 10-15 basis points in March 2024, resulting in rates ranging from 8.70% to 9.80%. Regardless of the reasons behind these banks' decision to raise their interest rates, borrowers ultimately face increased expenses as they must allocate more funds towardsequated monthly installments (EMIs) or opt for extended loan tenures.

Numerous borrowers, eager to clear their debts swiftly, turned to using their savings or investments, such as their Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) accounts, to repay high-interest loans promptly. However, the growing trend of using the EPF corpus for loan sett...